Iran intends to expand relations with India in BRICS and SCO formats

Tehran will expand relations with New Delhi in the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) formats, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said at a meeting with Indian Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal in Tehran, Report informs via TASS.

“Our approach to relations with India is strategic, and we are ready to expand our cooperation with India on a bilateral and multilateral basis, as well as within the framework of BRICS and the SCO,” Abdollahian said.

Iran became a full member of BRICS on January 1, 2024, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in July 2023. India was one of the founders of the BRICS group in 2006 and joined the SCO in 2017.

The Iranian minister described the signing of an agreement with India on the development and operation of the Iranian port of Chabahar as “an opportunity to expand trade cooperation between the two countries” and said that Tehran will do everything possible to facilitate the implementation of the terms of the agreement. Sonowal called the agreement "part of India's commercial strategy that will provide the basis for an alternative trade corridor for India, Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asian countries."